Gators helping those at UA affected by April tornadoes

Friday is the final day to help members of Eta Sigma Gamma will sell T-shirts to raise money for those impacted by the tornadoes that hit Alabama.

By Alyssa HubbellCorrespondent

It is not every day you see mascots of rival teams holding hands. But that's the case this week.

Friday marks the final day to help members of Eta Sigma Gamma, a health education honorary, sell T-shirts to raise money for students, faculty and staff of the University of Alabama who have been impacted by the series of tornadoes that hit Alabama on April 27.

The front of the T-shirt reads “Gators helping the Tide” and the back features an elephant and a gator holding hands with the words “Champions helping Champions” below.

During halftime of Saturday's Florida-Alabama game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, members in charge of the fundraiser will present the rival school with a check for an estimated $5,000.

T-shirts are on sale in the Reitz Union and are also available on the College of Health and Human Performance website.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will go directly to the University of Alabama Acts of Kindness Fund, which helps members of the UA community who are in need of emergency assistance.

The idea for the “Champions Helping Champions” campaign came from UF professor and UA alumna Dr. Beth Chaney.

Born and raised in Alabama, Chaney, 31, said she knows people who have been personally affected by the natural disaster, including a recent UF graduate who was working at UA during the time the tornado hit Tuscaloosa.

Dr. Joyce E. “Jen” Nickelson, 48, faculty sponsor of the Eta Sigma Gamma chapter at UA, said she is deeply moved by UF's efforts.

“It is amazing how a disaster can pull rivals together,” she said.

Junior Sarah Napolitano, 20, president of the UF chapter, has been working to make sure the tornado victims are not overlooked.

“There is a surge of help at the beginning, but people forget about what happened a few months later,” she said.

Napolitano encourages those who buy T-shirts to wear them to the football game on Saturday in order to support the cause.

Nickelson said most of the debris in Tuscaloosa has been cleaned up and the power lines have been restored, but homes are still torn apart, trees remain in houses and sheet metal can still be found in trees.

“I hope we never forget all those who lost their lives and the heroism of all those, including students, who pulled people out of the wreckage and helped in the recovery efforts,” she said.